Poncha Springs building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Poncha Springs, Colorado.
Last verified 2026-07-06 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- Town of Poncha Springs Town Hall: 333 Burnett Avenue, PO Box 190, Poncha Springs, CO 81242. Chaffee County Building Safety Department: 104 Crestone Ave., Room 125 (2nd Floor), Salida, CO 81201 (mailing: P.O. Box 699, Salida, CO 81201)
- Phone
- Town of Poncha Springs: 719-539-6882 (after-hours/on-call: 719-207-2293; fax 719-539-6898). Chaffee County Building Safety Department: 719-539-2124 (Option 1 for inspections, Option 2 for applications/fees); fax 719-530-9208
- Office hours
- Town of Poncha Springs Town Hall: Monday-Thursday 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Fridays 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., closed weekends and major holidays, per the Town's own site footer. Chaffee County Building Safety Department: operates on a 4-day work week (Monday-Thursday), inspections performed Monday-Thursday excluding federal holidays; inspection requests must arrive by 4:00 p.m. the business day before the desired inspection date.
- Website
- Official site
Inspection guide
See how inspections work in Poncha Springs — sequence, scheduling & re-inspection fees.
Codes adopted
Colorado has no statewide-mandated building code edition. Under the Colorado Constitution's home-rule provisions (art. XX, home rule for municipalities since 1902; home rule for counties since 1970), building codes and zoning are an enumerated home-rule charter power, so cities and counties adopt and amend their own construction codes independently — predominantly the I-Codes, with editions and local amendments varying by jurisdiction. The one statewide floor is for energy: HB22-1362 (2022) created the Energy Code Board (jointly appointed by the Colorado Energy Office and the Department of Local Affairs) and requires that, on or after July 1, 2023 and before July 1, 2026, any municipality or county that adopts or updates a building code must adopt and enforce an energy code achieving performance equivalent to or better than the 2021 IECC together with the board's Model Electric Ready and Solar Ready Code (which includes electric-ready, EV-ready, and solar-ready provisions); from July 1, 2026 onward the floor shifts to the board's Model Low Energy and Carbon Code or an equivalent. Electrical and plumbing permitting defaults to the Colorado State Electrical Board and State Plumbing Board (within DORA's Division of Professions and Occupations) — the state issues permits and inspects statewide except in counties/jurisdictions that operate their own certified Electrical or Plumbing Inspection Program, in which case the local program has authority instead. Always confirm the currently adopted code edition, local amendments, and inspection authority (state board vs. local program) with the specific jurisdiction before submitting plans.
- 2021 International Building Code (IBC) — enforced county-wide by the Chaffee County Building Safety Department per the County's own Adopted Codes & Design Criteria page; the Town of Poncha Springs' own Land Use Code (Section 6.13.5.9) explicitly confirms IBC compliance is 'administered by the Chaffee County Building Department' for construction within Town limits
- 2021 International Residential Code (IRC)
- 2021 International Fire Code (IFC)
- 2021 International Existing Building Code (IEBC)
- 2021 International Plumbing Code (IPC)
- 2021 International Mechanical Code (IMC)
- 2021 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC)
- 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC)
- 2023 National Electrical Code (NFPA 70 / NEC) — per Chaffee County Building Safety Department's Adopted Codes & Design Criteria page, the agency that actually issues and enforces electrical permits county-wide including Poncha Springs
- 2017 ICC A117.1 Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities — Chaffee County Adopted Codes & Design Criteria page
- Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code (effective July 1, 2026) — Chaffee County Adopted Codes & Design Criteria page, BOCC Ordinance 2026-02 with local amendments
- Colorado Model Electric Ready & Solar Ready Code — Chaffee County Adopted Codes & Design Criteria page
- Town of Poncha Springs Land Use Code (adopted December 9, 2013, amended on an ongoing basis, most recently by Ordinance No. 2025-04) — governs zoning districts, setbacks, dimensional standards, ADU eligibility/design standards (Section 6.13), home occupations (Section 6.12), lighting standards (Section 5.15), and site work required before Certificate of Occupancy; reviewed by Town Staff (John Armstrong, Town Planner, per the Town's own Building Permit Coversheet) as the mandatory first step before the County's building-permit review begins
- Town of Poncha Springs Ordinance #2008-11 (Building Construction Materials Use Tax) and CRS 29-2-105 — imposes a 2% Town use tax on building materials for any building-permit project, collected as part of the Town's own permit intake process, verified verbatim on the Town's own Exemption Certificate / Use Tax acknowledgment form
Permit types & fees
Residential Building Permit (New Construction, Single-Family, ADU, Additions)
Required for new single-family construction, additions, remodels, accessory structures, and ADUs in Poncha Springs. Two-step process: the Town of Poncha Springs first reviews the application via its own Building Permit Coversheet for Town Zoning Criteria compliance, collects its own Land Use Application Fee and 2% Building Construction Materials Use Tax, and confirms Salida sewer payment; only after the Town completes this review does the application go to the Chaffee County Building Safety Department, which performs the I-Code plan review, issues the permit, collects the county fee, and performs all inspections.
Residential Addition / Remodel Building Permit
Covers additions, remodels, and accessory structures to existing single-family residences in Poncha Springs. Same two-step Town-then-County process as new construction, using the same Town Building Permit Coversheet (which has an explicit 'Remodel' checkbox under Building Type) and the same Chaffee County Residential Building Application.
Electrical Permit
Required for electrical installation, alteration, or repair in Poncha Springs. Issued and inspected by the Chaffee County Building Safety Department under CRS 12-23-117, using the same county-wide fee schedule verified for Salida elsewhere in this corpus. A Town of Poncha Springs zoning sign-off is required first only when the electrical work is part of a broader project that itself triggers the Town's Building Permit Coversheet review (e.g., new construction, addition, solar).
Plumbing Permit
Required for installation of plumbing fixtures, fuel gas piping, and related work in Poncha Springs. Issued and inspected by the Chaffee County Building Safety Department under the 2021 International Plumbing Code (IPC) and International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC), using the same county-wide fee schedule verified for Salida.
Mechanical / HVAC Permit
Required for installation of furnaces, boilers, evaporative coolers, and related heating/cooling equipment in Poncha Springs. Issued and inspected by the Chaffee County Building Safety Department under the 2021 International Mechanical Code (IMC), using the same county-wide fee schedule verified for Salida.
Roofing Permit
Required for re-roofing or roof repair on any structure in Poncha Springs. Issued and inspected by the Chaffee County Building Safety Department under the 2021 IRC roofing provisions (R905). A separate permit is required for each structure.
Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Building Permit
Required for construction of a detached Accessory Dwelling Unit in Poncha Springs. Governed by the Town of Poncha Springs Land Use Code Section 6.13 (zoning eligibility, size caps 350-800 sq ft, setbacks, design standards), reviewed by the Town first (with its own flat $200 ADU application fee), then the same two-step Building Permit process as new construction for the actual construction, which the Town's own code confirms is 'administered by the Chaffee County Building Department.'
Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Permit
Required for installing a rooftop or ground-mount photovoltaic system in Poncha Springs. Because solar triggers the Town's zoning review (per this file's own electrical-permit entry: 'A Town of Poncha Springs zoning sign-off is required first only when the electrical work is part of a broader project that itself triggers the Town's Building Permit Coversheet review (e.g., new construction, addition, solar)'), TWO fees and TWO reviewing authorities apply: the Town of Poncha Springs (zoning sign-off/Building Permit Coversheet, required first) and the Chaffee County Building Safety Department (which issues the actual Electrical Permit for the PV installation and performs inspections, under CRS 12-23-117).
EV Charger / EVSE Permit
Poncha Springs has no EV-charger-specific permit type or fee line. An EV charger (EVSE) circuit is electrical work, issued and inspected by the Chaffee County Building Safety Department under CRS 12-23-117, using the same county-wide Electrical Permit Application and fee schedule verified elsewhere in this corpus — a standalone EVSE circuit at an existing home is billed under the 'All other installations' valuation-based tier, since it is not new residential wiring by square footage. A Town of Poncha Springs zoning sign-off (Building Permit Coversheet) is required first only when the EV charger work is part of a broader project that independently triggers Town review (e.g., new construction, addition). Colorado's HB24-1173 (EV charger permit checklists, 3-business-day decisions) applies only to counties with 20,000+ residents and municipalities with 10,000+ residents; Chaffee County's 2020 Census population (19,476) is below that threshold, and Poncha Springs itself is far smaller, so the statewide mandate does not currently bind either permitting agency.
New residential construction activity
New privately-owned residential construction onlyHousing units authorized by building permits for new privately-owned residential construction — this is not total permit volume (no commercial permits or remodels).
- Latest month (2026-05)
- No data reported
- Trailing 12 months
- No data reported
- Year to date
- No data reported
- Latest full year
- No data reported
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey (BPS), 2026-05 vintage. Census survey data — separate from the permit-requirements verification above. All Colorado building activity
Tips & gotchas
- Poncha Springs runs its own genuinely distinct zoning/land-use review step BEFORE any Chaffee County building-permit review begins — do not assume this is a pure county-administered town like unincorporated Chaffee County land. The Town's own Building Permit Coversheet (fetched directly from ponchasprings.us) is the primary evidence: it requires Town Zoning Criteria data, a Town Land Use Application Fee (20% of the county fee, min $50), and a distinct 2% Town Building Construction Materials Use Tax that Salida does not have.
- Because Poncha Springs contracts sewer service through the City of Salida, building-permit applicants must separately confirm 'Salida Sewer Paid' and obtain a signed Cost-Breakdown from the City of Salida as part of the Town's own Coversheet checklist — a three-agency wrinkle (Town, County, and City of Salida) unique to this jurisdiction in the corpus so far.
- The Town's own Land Use Code (Section 6.13.5.9) explicitly states IBC compliance is 'administered by the Chaffee County Building Department' — this is the clearest primary-source confirmation that the County, not the Town, performs substantive building-code plan review and issuance, while the Town's role is the zoning/land-use layer plus its own use tax.
- Town Staff (per the Town's own Coversheet) performs an independent pre-Certificate-of-Occupancy site review — road cuts, sidewalk repair, exterior finishes, driveway surfacing, grading/drainage, exterior lighting compliance, and one street-side tree — separate from and in addition to the County's own final inspection.
- GAP: no numeric Salida sewer connection/service fee specific to Poncha Springs properties was found published on either ponchasprings.us or cityofsalida.com; only that payment proof is a required Coversheet checklist item.